Arvind Kejriwal sit-in enters seventh day; four CMs back AAP, demand PM's intervention

As Arvind Kejriwal’s sit-in at Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal’s office enters the seventh day, four CMs of West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala has come out in support of the Delhi Chief Minister.

Terming the tussle a “constitutional crisis”, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, along with Andhra Pradesh’s N Chandrababu Naidu, Karnataka’s HD Kumaraswamy and Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan demanded the Centre to intervene and resolve the issue immediately.

“We came here to show our support to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. We demand that the Prime Minister interferes and takes necessary steps to solve the problem,” Kumaraswamy said.

However, the Congress party, which runs a coalition government in Karnataka with Kumaraswamy’s JD-S, has been slamming the Delhi chief minister for the sit-in at Lt Governor’s office.

The chief ministers went to Kejriwal’s home and held a press conference there after they were “denied” permission by Baijal to meet Kejriwal at the Raj Niwas.

“I wanted to meet the Delhi chief minister but I was told, verbally, that permission will not be granted. Then four of us wrote to the LG for an appointment, but we were told that he is not there. We were not allowed,” Banerjee said.

The CMs - Banerjee, Naidu, Vijayan and Kumaraswamy – who are in Delhi to attend a meeting of the Niti Aayog on Sunday met Kejriwal’s wife and several other AAP leaders at the Delhi chief minister’s home.

“We were not even given six minutes to meet him. We want this problem to be solved. This has become a constitutional crisis. Ultimately, if this problem is not solved then people will face issues,” Banerjee said.

“If this is happening in the capital then what will happen in other states? We will meet the prime minister tomorrow and request him to intervene and solve the problem,” she added.

Kejriwal, along with his four cabinet colleagues – Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, Health Minister Satyendar Jain and Gopal Rai – are camping inside Baijail’s office since Monday demanding that the "strike" by bureaucrats in the city be called off. Their demands also include approval to the doorstep ration delivery scheme.

The bureaucrats in Delhi are not meeting Delhi ministers as part of their protest against an alleged assault on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash in February. They are demanding an apology from Kejriwal for the incident.

(With inputs from PTI)